


The Guest

by teacupsandtime



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Abigail has two dads, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dogs, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Murder Family, Original Character(s), a lot of fluff, did I mention this was fluffy?, loudly implied cannibalism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-07-10 05:17:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15942560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teacupsandtime/pseuds/teacupsandtime
Summary: Will, Hannibal, and Abigail all left together at the end of Mizumono.Years later, they've settled into a new life and now Abigail's brought a boyfriend home to meet her family.





	The Guest

* * *

“What’s his name again?”

Hannibal placed the large bowl of gazpacho he’d taken from the refrigerator on the marble island and looked up as Will rounded the corner into the kitchen.

“You know his name.”

Will sighed and ran his hands down the front of his pants to smooth them out.

“Daniel.”

“Daniele.”

“ _Daniele_ ,” Will repeated. “Whatever.”

Hannibal eyed the orzo bubbling in the pot on the stovetop. Will looked at the rest of the food laid out in various states of preparation.

“Seems a little quiet for such momentous occasion.”

“Yes. Abigail insisted that I ‘tone it down’,” Hannibal explained. “And that the ingredients be ‘traditional’.”

“I just don’t know why she never mentioned him before,” Will said as he approached the island in the kitchen. “She doesn’t come to visit - for nearly half a year - and then it’s ‘I’ll be home for break and oh, I’m bringing someone with me’.”

Hannibal untied the apron at his waist and folded the pristinely white cloth before filing it away in a cabinet.

“I’m sure she had her reasons,” he said. 

Will watched as Hannibal moved to turn off the stovetop and slowly poured the pasta in the colander in the sink. 

Abigail was due to arrive any moment.

The three of them had been living a relativity peaceful and quiet life in Italy after fleeing the United States together several years ago. They’d found a remote house, changed identities (though Abigail had kept her legal first name), and settled into a life which could have possibly been defined as “normal” were it not for the occasional exotic meat which ended up on the table.

After a year, Abigail expressed interest in attending a university.

After two years, Hannibal and Will relented.

She had been away without a visit for just over 6 months. Then, one night, she’d called and said she’d met a young man. He was handsome and sweet and made her laugh. She’d told him their agreed upon story: that Hannibal and Will had adopted her when she was orphaned as a young teenager. And she wanted them to meet him.

“You don’t think it’s strange?” Will continued. “Not to tell us?”

“I consider myself a learned man,” Hannibal said as he pulled the thinly sliced ciabatta from the oven. “However the inter workings of the young female mind is not a subject on which I would claim expertise. Will you take the dogs outside?”

Will looked down to the pack who were sitting obediently just outside the kitchen.

“Yeah,” Will sighed. “Come on, let’s go!”

Clapping his hands once as he spoke, Will waited while the dogs all came to their feet. They followed him - tails kicking up a breeze as they went - to the backdoor. He pushed it open and watched as they ran into the spacious fenced yard. Just as he closed the door again, a chime echoed through the house.

Hannibal rinsed his hands quickly in the sink and moved to the front door, Will following behind him with a heavy breath in his lungs.

“Hello, my darling.”

Hannibal’s arms slipped around her waist as her hands locked behind his head.

“Hi, Jonas,” she said brightly. “It’s good to see you.”

“You too, sweet one,” Hannibal responded as he released her.

She smiled warmly at him and moved to Will. A yellow sundress flowed around her slender body as she came to him. Her skin radiated with a warmth bolstered by the setting sun behind her.

“Hey, Abby,” Will said as he hugged her.

She smiled into his shoulder as she returned his embrace. Their bodies rocked together for a moment before they separated. Abigail pulled back and reached for the arm of the young man behind her.

“Guys, this is Daniele,” she beamed. “Daniele, these are my parents, Jonas and Oliver.”

He stepped forward, a bottle of wine in his hand. Hannibal could smell the sweat on his skin.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sirs,” he said as he extended his hand towards Will who took it and smiled politely.

“Nice to meet you,” he said blandly.

Daniele released his hand and extended it to Hannibal who warmly accepted it.

“A pleasure,” he said. “Please, come in.”

As they stepped inside, Daniele handed the bottle to Hannibal.

“This is for you guys,” he said softly. “I wasn’t sure what your dinner plans were but Abby-Abigail said you liked wine.”

Reaching for it, Hannibal read the label and smiled at him again.

“How thoughtful. Thank you.”

They all continued into the house.

“Where are the dogs?” Abigail asked as she scanned the house. 

“The backyard,” Will answered.

“Oh, I hope you didn’t do that for me,” Daniele said. “Abigail told me you had a lot of dogs and I love them.”

“That’s okay,” Will said. “They can be a bit much all at once.”

Abigail took Daniele’s hand and led him to the backdoor. Opening it, she stepped back out into the orange light and squealed as the dogs crowded around her. Will looked at Hannibal who was smoothing down a crease in the tablecloth.

“She looks beautiful,” Will said as he came towards him. “I mean, she _is_ beautiful. She just seems . . . radiant.”

“Yes,” Hannibal agreed. “She seems rather taken with him.”

“Are you going to serve that wine?”

“Of course not,” Hannibal said. “It’s vile. But it was very considerate of him.”

The backdoor closed again as Abigail and Daniele stopped back inside.

“Olli,” she said. “There are at least two faces out there that I don’t recognize.”

“Yeah,” Will said with a smile. “That’s Franz and Poe. We got them recently.”

Will regaled her with the tale of finding the two of them wandering around the nearby town while Hannibal instructed them all to sit at their place settings where a glass of white wine waited at each. They continued in their conversation while Hannibal placed bowls of gazpacho and toasted ciabatta in front of all of them before he took a seat at the head of the table. Will sat to his right, Abigail and Daniele at his left.

“Wow, this is really good,” the young man said. “Abigail told me you were a great cook but I think she undersold you. I really hope you didn’t go through a lot of trouble.”

“ _No_ , there was no way to possibly prepare you,” she corrected with a smile. “And don’t worry. He didn’t.”

“Do you cook, Daniele?” Hannibal asked.

“Yes, well - I’m trying to learn,” he said. “Neither of my parents really did growing up but once I moved out I found out pretty fast that microwaved food can only do so much.”

Abigail laughed under her breath and looked at him in a way that made Will’s insides tighten. 

“So Daniele what are you studying in school?” he asked.

“Well, I got kind of a late start,” he began. “I initially registered as pre-med - my mom was a veterinarian when I was growing up so I was always interested in medicine. But then I got into it and found out that I really didn’t have the stomach for it.”

“No?” Will questioned. “You know Abigail likes to hunt.”

There was a quiet in the air before Daniele broke it with a nervous laughter. Under the table, Hannibal placed a hand on Will’s knee.

“He knows,” Abigail said. “In fact, that’s kinda of how we met.”

“Oh no, please don’t,” Daniele begged, his cheeks flushing.

“What? It’s cute!” she said, grinning from ear to ear. “You remember those girls I told you about who like to camp?”

They both nodded.

“Well, we were in a sporting goods shop getting some gear for a trip and I was trying on some camouflage pants and a jacket-”

“Please stop,” Daniele laughed as he hid his head in his hands.

“And he bumped into me and made a joke about how he couldn’t see me since I was in camouflage.”

They were both laughing outright now, engrossed in the memory. Will looked at Hannibal who was regarding them with patient, amused eyes.

“It was so funny,” she continued. “Anyway, apparently he’d seen me around campus and was trying to figure out a way to get my attention.”

Will refilled his wine from the decanter on the table. Hannibal excused himself from the table, returning with small plates of orzo and shrimp.

“Abigail told me you used to be a surgeon?” Daniele said to Will.

“No,” he said. “That’s was Jonas.”

Daniel turned toward Hannibal who had retaken his seat.

“Oh, sorry,” he said. “You were a teacher?”

“Yeah,” Will said. “I used to be.”

“What do you guys do now?” Daniele asked. “For fun?”

Will took another sip of his wine. His patience for small talk was dissipating; he wanted to talk to Abigail. Like they used to.

“We like to hunt.”

“Oh cool,” he said. “I suppose that’s where she gets it from.”

Across from him, Abigail met his gaze.

“I need to feed the dogs,” Will said suddenly. “I’ll be right back.”

Coming to his feet, Will went into kitchen and took the large bowl of food he’d made the other night from the fridge. Grabbing a ladle on his way to the door he opened it and closed it speedily behind him. As the dogs rushed towards him in a fury of wagging tails he felt his lungs open. It felt like he hadn’t been breathing.

The door opened behind him as he spooned the food in the metal bowls at his feet.

“Do you hate him?”

With a heavy sigh, Will filled the last of the dog’s dishes and turned to her.

“No,” he said. “No, Abigail, I don’t. I’m sorry.”

Her hands were clasped in front of her. Her eyes soft.

“I really don’t,” he continued. “He seems nice. And sincere. And that he cares about you.”

She stepped around him to pet the backs of the dogs as they ate.

“Why didn’t you tell us about him?”

“I meant to,” she said. “I’m not sure why I didn’t. I think I thought . . . I don’t know, that you’d be mad at me or something.”

“Why would we be mad?”

“Well aren’t you?”

“No, of course not,” Will said. “I guess . . . it’s stupid, but I guess I thought when you were done with school that you’d come back and live with us again. It didn’t really occur to me that you’d have your own life.”

She smiled. 

“That sounds awful.”

“It’s okay,” Abigail said. “Honestly, Will, I didn’t think it would happen either. You know I love you both. And I love living with you. And I _miss_ being here. But I never really thought I’d have a chance to live, like, a _normal_ life - you know?

As she spoke, she cupped her hand over the scar on her neck.

“And then I met him and it seemed like it could happen. We went to the movies and he held my hand in the dark and it was just so nice. Just to _be with him_. Like nothing else existed around us. Everything just felt . . . boring.”  
  
Will smiled.

“I don’t remember the last time I had a nightmare.”

She dropped her hands back in front of her and picked at her nails. Her eyes shook with unshed tears. 

“Are you disappointed in me?”

“God, Abigail, no,” Will said. “I just want you to be happy. We both do. I’m sorry if I was cold to him.”

“It’s okay,” she said as a tear fell. “I told him you were awkward and weird anyway.”

Will laughed.

“Yeah? What else did you tell him?”

“That Hannibal is fussy and obsessed with manners. That you two met when he came to give a lecture at your university. That you like dogs more than you like people. Speaking of which-”

She motioned to the two latest additions. 

“The other day I was reading about some guy near here who disappeared. Apparently he had a bunch of . . . unsavory stuff on his computer. I didn’t think too much about it until I read that he was presumed to have fled with his two dogs.”

She took a step towards him.

“I asked him when I called to say I was bringing Daniele with me,” she said softly. “And I didn’t taste anything-”

Will shook his head.

“He didn’t.”

She smiled and ran her hands up her bare arms. 

“It’s chilly,” she said. “Let’s go inside.”

When they walked back into the house, Hannibal was listening to Daniele tell a story as if it were the most interesting thing he’d ever heard. They rejoined them both at the table and continued in friendly conversation until Hannibal left to prepare dessert of chocolate gelato and strawberries. They sat at the table and sipped espresso until the bowls were empty and the crickets sang outside.

“We’re going to head back,” Abigail said as she stood.

“So soon?” Will said. “There’s more coffee if you’d like.”

“No, it’s okay. We’re a little tired from the ride down.”

Will almost asked them to stay the night before he stopped himself and stood with them. Hannibal led Daniele towards the door, continuing with a conversation they’d started when Will and Abigail had been outside.

“Listen, I’m coming over for breakfast tomorrow,” Abigail said. “Just me.”

“No, please,” Will said. “He can come.”

“No, it’s okay,” she insisted. “I want to spend some time alone with you two. Plus I already told Hannibal he can make whatever he wants.”

Will smiled and wrapped his arms around her. He felt a thick lump in his throat building as he held on. 

“I love you,” he said softly.

She pulled back, her eyes watery again.

“You too.”

They walked to the door where Hannibal and Daniele were waiting. Hannibal opened his arms to her and hugged her tenderly, kissing her cheek as they separated.

“We’ll see you tomorrow, my darling,” he said. “Drive safely.”

“We will.”

“It was a pleasure meeting you two,” Daniele said as he held out his hand to Hannibal who took it without hesitation.

“You as well.”

As he went to shake Will’s hand, Daniele found himself pulled into a loose embrace.

“Thank you,” Will said. “For coming.”

“Yeah, of course,” Daniele said. “Have a good night.”

With that, they left. Hannibal closed the door behind them.

“I’m going to let the dogs in,” Will said.

The older man listened as the backdoor opened, followed by a cacophony of nails and paintings breaths.

“I’m going to bed,” Will called from the back.

Turning off the lights, Hannibal followed him up stairs, finding Will pacing around the bedroom. Coming up behind him, Hannibal wrapped his arms around his chest and held him still.

“I feel like an asshole.”

Hannibal kissed the side of his neck.

“I don’t know why I got so worked up over this,” he continued. “As soon as I saw how clearly happy she was that should have been enough. The way he looked at her-”

Hannibal’s hands moved to undo the buttons of his shirt.

“It was so genuine. It’s so clear that he cares about her.”

“I think it’s quite a bit more than that,” Hannibal said as he kissed his neck again. “He seems to be rather in love with her.”

As he unsnapped the last button, Hannibal pressed his body flush against his back.

“Does it not bother you at all?” Will asked.

Turning them around, Hannibal pushed Will to sit on the edge of the bed, coming to kneel at his feet as he untied his shoes and pulled them off.

“No,” he said. “I was a tad saddened to think of her ‘fleeing the nest’, as it were. But it was delightful to see her so vibrant. And, he is a rather charming young man.”

“What if we become the annoying people she’s forced to call on holidays?” Will asked. “What if she stops coming to visit?”

Hannibal smiled and leaned in, pressing his torso between Will’s legs and placing a hand on the side of his face.

“Are you bored of me already?”

Will pushed into his hand.

“Of course not,” he said softly. “I just thought that when we left your house that night we’d all be together for a long, long time. I thought I’d lost her once before-”

He paused.

“I wasn’t expecting to have to let her go again so soon.”

Hannibal rubbed this thumb on the side of Will’s face and leaned in, slotting their lips together. He tasted the rain from that night. 

“You haven’t let her go, Will,” he said. “You’ve just set her free.”


End file.
